1970s House Design

Written by melissa sherrard| 13/05/2017

Contemporary-style home designs were widely popular during the 1970s. (house blueprint and house model studio isolated image by dinostock from Fotolia.com)

In the 1970s, ranch style houses began to be passed over for more contemporary home designs that featured open floor plans, minimal ornamentation and irregular shapes. Vertical siding, made of aluminium or vinyl, was a common design feature of 1970s houses, and the neo-eclectic styles of the late 20th century were also popular.

Asymmetrical Design

Home designs of the 1970s consisted of unusual angles and asymmetrical styles that greatly contrasted the flat, boxy look of the once-dominant ranch home. Custom ranch homes built through the later 1970s drew inspiration from the neo-eclectic style and were built with more prominent entrances, taller roof lines and sharper angles.

Multi-Level

Flat, multi-level or varied roof lines are another telltale feature of 1970s home design. While traditional ranch homes declined in popularity, their bi-level counterparts continued to be desirable in the new homes built during the 1970s. Split-level houses were considered more contemporary, and the design could be customised to accommodate any style the homeowner desired, such as Colonial, Southwestern or Asian.

Wide Windows

Oversized windows were a major design feature of 1970s home styles, bringing in natural light and an open, airy feel to houses built during this decade. Windows of 1970s house designs were big and bold, often taking up much of an exterior wall's space and being a prominent feature in the home's construction.